The Pocket Colosseum

Bread and circuses

have become

DoorDash and the iPhone

The bread is delivered

to your couch

They didn’t need

to build a new

Colosseum

They simply put one

in every pocket

Thumb against glass

The emperor

has no face

the arena

has no walls

and the crowd

never goes home

We wake

already seated

Sleep with

the spectacle

beside us

Somewhere

a library closes

A notification

covers the silence

The lions

have changed

as they no longer

need feeding

We feed them

small pieces

of ourselves

through glass

The thumb moves

and the gate opens

Another stranger

enters the arena

We watch

the bread arrive

still warm

Outside

the Republic

quietly changes

hands

Inside

Someone asks

What should we

watch next